Stuart Lewis plans to play on for many more years after hitting 30.

You might think the Maidstone midfielder’s all-action game would catch up with him eventually but he looks after himself and is enjoying his football more than ever.

Turning 30 isn’t the barrier it once was for footballers, with Lewis drawing inspiration from former Barnet team-mate Andy Hessenthaler.

Lewis, who celebrated his 30th birthday on October 15, said: “I suppose 30 is a milestone moment for a footballer.

“In the old v young games at training, I’m one of the oldest in the old team now.

“I keep myself fit and work hard to stay on top of my fitness. Nowadays with everything that’s come into the game, all the recovery and stuff like that, hopefully I’ll have plenty more years to come.

“I made my debut with Andy Hessenthaler at Barnet and he was brilliant. He was 37 or 38 when he played with me and was the fittest player in the team.

“I’m probably a little bit similar to him as a player and he was playing into his late 30s so hopefully anything past 35-36 would be brilliant.”

Lewis is the same bundle of energy who burst on the scene at Barnet before enjoying play-off final success at Wembley with Gillingham in 2009 and League 2 promotion with Wycombe two years later.

The difference now is he knows when to hold his runs.

He said: “I’m all about energy and how I play on the front foot is part of my game.

“I’ve always tried to keep that side to me but I probably try to pick and choose a little bit more, although there’s some games when I keep wanting to go and still feel like I’m 21.

“I feel fresh and I feel good so turning 30 had been more of a number than anything else.

“There’s going to be players coming in who are younger than you but you’ve got to adapt and stay one of the top players.”

Signing for Maidstone gave Lewis’ career a shot in the arm after an unhappy end to his time at Ebbsfleet.

He said: “Since January, when I arrived, it’s kicked me on again and I’m enjoying my football more than I ever have at any club and that’s probably showing in my performances.

“Having the connection I’ve got with the fans here has been a highlight of my career.

“That means as much as anything because you don’t get it too often at clubs.

“I lost a little bit of the buzz for football at Ebbsfleet and I got it back here.

“I owe that to the manager and the fans who have given me that extra kick over the last eight or nine months.”